Tarot and spirituality

I'm going to write a post about tarot and spirituality and hope for the best that it does not come across as in any way sanctimonious. Hope that doesn't put you off reading any further!

The reason that I am a bit nervous of writing about this however is that my beliefs on the matter can often make those who I am reading for feel a bit uncomfortable when I explain them. They feel there is a conflict, when in fact there isn't - it's just about appropriate respect.

For me the tarot is a spiritual belief. It may not be one of the most prominent and revered religions in the world but for those of us who belief in the universal powers and energies behind the tarot and the psychic realm, it is a beautiful and sacred matter. It is something that deserves our humility as well as our wonder.

Unlike many religions, the tarot and psychic realm don't really come with any strict rules. And yet there are some generally agreed concepts that bind readers and those with a gift. Generally I find that we believe in karma in various different guises and names. We believe that energy is powerful and should be used for good. Hate will come back to destroy you, love comes back to bring you happiness.

In other words, we believe in the power of the good in us all and realise that it's not to be toyed with.

So it is with some apprehension I wanted to raise the subject of reading on other people; someone not present at the reading. If you yourself are a reader than I would be very interested to hear your views. I can feel extremely uncomfortable when faced with someone wanting to know the details of another - usually wanting to know about their thoughts or feelings.

This is of course a natural curiosity and never more so when you are in love with someone but they have distanced themself from you. There is a lot of confusion that you need to work through and trying to get to the bottom of how this person can be part of your healing.

However, the issue for me is one of privacy. Where are the boundaries in a reading when someone asks to look at the personal thoughts of someone not willingly taking part? For me, I will often take a look at general energies around them - explaining along the way of course that I would really need to read for them personally to gain real insight. But I also will be upfront about what I feel are moral issues.

If someone has not given permission to give information away about themselves, what right do we have to pry? Of course, if the querant wishes to know whether this person still cares about them or would be prepared to talk or even if they are thinking of returning then I feel that this is reasonable as it is something that concerns them directly. But when it comes to trying to look at what they are doing, who might be with them, what depth of feeling they might have, what actions they will take - I explain my reservations.

I mentioned karma above and this is something that I do constantly check myself for when reading to make sure that I do not get carried away. I feel this keenly when reading for someone who is having an affair with a married man or woman. Now I must stress here that it is not my place to judge and I NEVER do. This is not my point. We are complex beings and have myriad reasons for doing what we do. So this is not the issue. But I do need to put my foot down on someone asking to look at what is happening in someone else's marriage (or relationship). I just feel that this is crossing a line and the universal wisdom that I am chanelling seems to pull me back from this. Does anyone else have the same experience? It's almost something that speaks to me, tells me that this is not right.

So this is often an awkward moment for me when reading. I would hate to make anyone feel judged at all and equally hate to leave anyone feeling they hadn't gained the insight that they hoped for. At the risk of trivialising the matter, to quote from Spiderman (!), "with great power comes great responsibility" and this is very true of the universal spirit. It is not just something we can pick up when we feel we need to know more and can't access it. It's a power to be humbled by. We must never lose sight of what's right and wrong before it.